When we decided to add By Design Catering‘s Chef Prepared Meals to the pages of our December/January issue, we contacted Tasha Peters to get all the details. The meals sounded delicious and we were impressed with the efficiency of the service, so when Tasha offered to send the meals to the Social editorial team the week before the photo shoot, we all jumped at the chance to get a firsthand look. And boy, did they deliver. We can give a personal recommendation that the dishes are not only expertly prepared and surprisingly varied, but also healthy and filling. In what was a busy week, we were all pretty thankful for the ease and convenience too. So if our review has you intrigued, read on and find out everything you can expect from this meal delivery service.
- What is a chef prepared meals program? By Design Catering’s chef prepared meals program is a weekly menu with up to five meals to use as the customer wishes. The meals can be used to supplement lunches and dinners for up to five days. It is designed to give the customer properly portioned, healthy meals that are portable and ready to eat.
- Is it designed for convenience or diet? The prepared meals program is designed for both convenience and to help customers with their nutrition. We live in a very busy world that seems to require more and more from us each day. For some, carving out the time for a healthy lunch or dinner is almost impossible. And who wants to go grocery shopping or cook after a long day? For those customers, the meals may be more about convenience than diet. For customers who are also working hard on fitness goals, the prepared meals give them the convenience of having the meals ready to eat and gives them the comfort of knowing they aren’t killing their macros counts for the day.
- What’s the menu like? Do I get to pick options? The menus can be viewed on the chef prepared meal page on the By Design Catering website. Weekly menus have five meals. Customers have an option to choose large portion sizes or small portion sizes. They can choose three, five, or ten meals at a time. The comment section is used for special communications like Paleo or Keto diets.
- Give us the details. What can we expect in each delivery? The chef prepared menus go out on Monday. The cut off for ordering is Friday at midnight. The food is prepared on Sunday morning and delivered Sunday afternoons. We text the clients a delivery window Sunday morning. Customers choose to have us bring a cooler with freezer packs, or to leave their own coolers for us to store their food in upon delivery. The meals are portioned and labeled with reheat instructions and best quality dates. It’s super simple and easy for our customers to fall in love with the service.
- What prompted you to start a Chef Prepared Meals program? By Design Catering started as a personal chef service in Jacksonville in 2005. We’ve always done meal planning, just on a much larger scale. The program has mostly served families and athletes who order ten days of food at a time to be stored in the refrigerator and freezer. We’ve always wanted to bring it to the masses on a smaller scale, while still being able to deliver food that will be fresh and taste great over time. With the recent boom in delivery meal services, the public is more knowledgeable about the concept of meal prep. Marshall and I saw an opportunity to offer a program that is everything these customers want but aren’t getting in the mass delivery model. With By Design Catering, there aren’t subscription fees, your food is prepared the day it is delivered and is truly fresh, By Design Catering is a local vendor right here in St. Augustine, and the food is ready to eat upon delivery. Customers don’t have to gather ingredients, follow a recipe, cook the food, and clean up after. The food is ready when we deliver! We offer the real convenience the online delivery services only promise.
- How do you think prepared meals contribute to your customer’s wellness? Over the years we have had so many different types of clients use meal prep services, each with their own list of benefits. I think most customers will tell the best part of having the service is the time they get back in their lives and the peace of mind knowing they are eating a fresh meal prepared with their lifestyle in mind. Meal prep customers no longer have to shop for, prepare, cook, cool, package, and clean up after their own meal prep sessions. The customer doesn’t stress about how to find a quick place that will have a healthy meal, they have one ready and waiting. The meal program also saves customers money when they don’t have to throw away rotten veggies they never ate, and budgeting in the meal prep service helps customers know exactly how much is spent on meals during the week. For those eating on a schedule for medical, weight loss, or training purposes, having the meals adds a layer of confidence that keeps them moving towards their goals.
For more information on By Design Catering and their Chef Prepared Meals, visit www.bydesigncatering.com/chef-prepared-meals. Photo by Brian Miller
